Gas Powered Range Extender

[Chaparral]

I see Jamie confirmed in another thread that the Harvester version will have 150 miles of range when using just EV

That’s suggests to me that the Harvester generator is going to be quite powerful, or else that the stated 500 miles requires significant breaks to stop and wait for the generator to charge the battery.

 

[Jamie@ScoutMotors]

There are a lot of variables with series hybrids. There is also a bit of time from now till market launch. Let's see how things develop. That said, we went with conservative numbers at this stage.

 

[Chaz26]

I’ve gone for the ev only option but it will be interesting to see how far the range extender will go, particularly on a long trip where the battery is low and then the gas extender is topped up to full.

 

[Wilk45]

IMHO, this video is a pretty good guess on which engine and how it will be deployed.

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Will the extender automatically kick on when battery hits a certain level so it's replenishing battery as your driving ?? Will they be able to segregate the banks of batteries one could begin charged while the other powers vehicle

 

[OIBScout]

It would be good for Scout Motors to confirm their estimates for battery range with Harvester range extender not figured in, but installed. They have to know by now how many cells are deleted from the battery only version when Harvester enters the equation.

I won’t venture a speculative number, but on Traveler Harvester, I’d like to see battery only range within 20% of the non-Harvester estimates (350 miles), with the generator adding 40% - 45% back in via gas charging to get to that estimated 500 top range.

My gross assumption is that the Harvester generator fuel capacity isn’t the limiting factor for the 500 mile ceiling, but more down to the ability of a compact, reliable (single phase… or possibly two phase?!?) generator to effectively charge the 800V platform?

 

[OIBScout]

There are a lot of variables with series hybrids. There is also a bit of time from now till market launch. Let's see how things develop. That said, we went with conservative numbers at this stage.

Can you point to more details for how Harvester is conceived to charge, and at what cost to base battery range (before the generator / inverter? kicks in? 300 miles? 270?

 

[Jamie@ScoutMotors]

Not at this stage. If we had more information to share, we would have included it in last week's introduction. As soon as we have more to say, we will dive deeper into the technology.

 

[dearbulls]

I'm more curious what engine they can pull from VWG. It has to get at least 135kw power output. And it had to be small enough to fit in the rear. EA888 could be too big.

Ramcharger uses their 3.6 v6 but it stays in engine bay without having any frunk

 

[J Alynn]

I'm more curious what engine they can pull from VWG. It has to get at least 135kw power output. And it had to be small enough to fit in the rear. EA888 could be too big.

Ramcharger uses their 3.6 v6 but it stays in engine bay without having any frunk

I’m telling you they’re using the 1970’s crated beetle engines! They get to dump old inventory and actually make a $

 

[VAG for life]

I'm excited abut this option and put my deposit down for it.
will be great for those extended trips, camping, etc. i want to get more details on spec and how it will work.

 

[Wilk45]

I think by having swing away spare tire that room in cargo bay floor will be room for inverted engine and generator as well as gas tank. It most likely will be accessed by removing floor panel for service

 

[R1TVT]

This is a really interesting decision for buyers - one that will differ greatly based on experience I would think. I have never run my R1T to ZERO and been stranded, but I also live in the Northeast and do not drive for hours into the backcountry to camp for days. I do, however, drive into some remote wilderness areas in cold conditions to backcountry ski (typically National Forest lands where there is no charging infrastructure) so I wake up 30 minutes earlier than I normally would, and I stop at a Rivian RAN station or DCFC and grab BFast and coffee while topping off to 80% SOC before heading off into the woods. If I choose to ski at an actual ski area, many of them have free Level II chargers (which is amazing). I still wake up 30 minutes early to try to ensure I can grab a charger.

Cold does impact SOC & range, so the Harvester option got my attention... That said:

Based on the current infrastructure we have, and the infrastructure that is being developed, and since I have not had any problems to date, I don't see the value (personally). The Harvester is an entirely separate (and large) subsystem that will come with an added cost. The truck will also come with a smaller battery pack, and I will loose valuable storage space. My R1T gives me about 290 miles of range on 20's and AT's or Hakka snows in optimal conditions, so adding another 60 miles of range with a Terra (and 800V architecture) is a huge bonus. My charging stops should (technically) be even faster. The weight of the vehicle will likely be similar to my smaller R1T, and I will not need to worry about maintaining two sub-systems, increased maintenance, expense, etc.

The Harvester seems like something I don't need - despite gaining potentially a little extra peace of mind on those super cold days in the woods. Even on longer road trips (and with 350 miles of range) I am still stopping for food and bathroom breaks every 3 or 4 hours (which I now do at DCFC stations located near restaurants). I also have no "range anxiety" - I am at 39K miles on my Rivian. I have free L2 charging at work, there is charging at my airport, there are now 4 RAN DCFC chargers strategically located around New England and I have home charging in my garage. With home charging, and for daily driving each week, this isn't even a consideration. It's really just edge case stuff for longer trips that need a bit more planning (mades simple through the UI and SW). Lastly even with the Harvester option, I would likely STILL wind up at a DCFC on those longer trips.

This is all about trade-offs. I think Scout will do well by making both these options available - particularly for people that love what Scout is doing, but maybe have a little hesitancy around the pure EV aspect (we know it will be the first EV truck for many buyers, so there is definitely a good target market for Harvester).

 

[speedrye]

The Harvester option needs to be pretty short to fit in that location without eating into cargo space, so a flat four or flat six would be great, and something VW has done well over the years. Routing air up from underneath shouldn't be too hard for intake and cooling, but that could get messy off-roading. My Toyota sucks intake air in high in the front wheelwell, so that might be an option in the back.

Also, gas engines excel at creating heat. Wonder if that could be used efficiently to precondition a cold battery in the winter? Maybe use it to augment cabin heat instead of relying on electrons only? Seems a waste to not use it for anything, but the added complexity could drive up costs too much.

 

[R1TVT]

You can make a battery flat, you can make a gas tank flat, but you can't make the range extender itself flat, so there is no doubt you will loose valuable cargo space (or space for other things) with Harvester I would think. And I carry a full sized spare in the R1T (hidden nicely underneath the bed), and I would want a full-sized spare with the Terra. Will be interesting to see if the Harvester deletes a full-sized spare option in the Terra b/c it needs to take away from some space somewhere at the rear of the vehicle (if the frunk is to be left intact). I may have missed that bit of detail, or perhaps it is still TBD.

 

[Bodie]

You can make a battery flat, you can make a gas tank flat, but you can't make the range extender itself flat, so there is no doubt you will loose valuable cargo space (or space for other things) with Harvester I would think. And I carry a full sized spare in the R1T (hidden nicely underneath the bed), and I would want a full-sized spare with the Terra. Will be interesting to see if the Harvester deletes a full-sized spare option in the Terra b/c it needs to take away from some space somewhere at the rear of the vehicle (if the frunk is to be left intact). I may have missed that bit of detail, or perhaps it is still TBD.

I read somewhere that for Terra with 33s, the spare is under the truck. For 35s, it is in the bed. Would make sense that a Terra with Harvester would have the spare in the bed regardless of size.

 

[Logan]

I read somewhere that for Terra with 33s, the spare is under the truck. For 35s, it is in the bed. Would make sense that a Terra with Harvester would have the spare in the bed regardless of size.

I've been wondering this as well.

I keep reading that the Terra will fit a 33in spare tire under the bed. But not if a Harvester Terra will fit 33's under the bed.

And same deal with the Traveler. Will the Traveler offer the spare under the bed, or inside the back trunk area ala my old Jeep Grand Cherokee?

(I have the same year as this photo, but this is just a random jeep from the internet).

My issue is mostly that the parking space I have available for the Traveler is ~204in long from the concrete bollard protecting the hot water heater to the back of the garage. Which means that with the spare carrier on back, I won't be able to park it inside the garage.

So the ~191in OAL for the traveler without the carrier is totally fine. I just... also want a spare tire somewhere . And if that happens to be under the bed for the Harvester Traveler, awesome, but even as above I'd be ok with it.

 

[ID_ENG]

Interesting watch on YouTube. By the Fast Lane people. They speculate that a Porsche Boxer engine is really the only engine that makes sense to provide enough power and able to fit the small area.

 

[Logan]

Interesting watch on YouTube. By the Fast Lane people. They speculate that a Porsche Boxer engine is really the only engine that makes sense to provide enough power and able to fit the small area.

Finally a use case for a Boxer!



(but really, fitting under the floor is a great use case for something like that. Do you have a link to that particular video, I don't think I've seen that one yet).

 

[ID_ENG]

Finally a use case for a Boxer!



(but really, fitting under the floor is a great use case for something like that. Do you have a link to that particular video, I don't think I've seen that one yet).

Yeah sorry was being lazy. Ha

 

[J Alynn]

I've been wondering this as well.

I keep reading that the Terra will fit a 33in spare tire under the bed. But not if a Harvester Terra will fit 33's under the bed.

And same deal with the Traveler. Will the Traveler offer the spare under the bed, or inside the back trunk area ala my old Jeep Grand Cherokee?

(I have the same year as this photo, but this is just a random jeep from the internet).

View attachment 3369

My issue is mostly that the parking space I have available for the Traveler is ~204in long from the concrete bollard protecting the hot water heater to the back of the garage. Which means that with the spare carrier on back, I won't be able to park it inside the garage.

So the ~191in OAL for the traveler without the carrier is totally fine. I just... also want a spare tire somewhere . And if that happens to be under the bed for the Harvester Traveler, awesome, but even as above I'd be ok with it.

Traveller spare as base will mount under rear of vehicle. Not sure if 35’s w